Has anyone converted a gas powered snowblower to a battery powered electric one?

I have a 5HP single stage unit with a 2 stroke motor. The thing is obnoxiously loud. Being 2 stroke, I have to mix the oil with the gas. Then there is the maintenance of the engine on top of all this. It is getting bothersome.

I was thinking of getting a 1.5 - 3 hp AC motor (table saw motor or similar) and connect that to a 12V deep cycle AGM battery with a 1500w continuous inverter.

From the parts diagram of my snowblower it is belt driven so I would just need appropriate sized pulleys to get the auger speed about the same as to where it is now. Most table saw motors run at 3450 RPM.

I thought this would be an initial good project to start with before tackling the EV conversion of my car.

That sounds like a pretty good idea. I bet I could pick up an old non working snowblower and "fix" it with an electric motor.

You would need to get a quality inverter to do this tho. The modified sine wave most cheaper inverters put out will lower the efficiency of the motor. The reduced efficiency translates into more heat in the motor, and shorter motor life.

Look for an inverter with a filtered or pure sine wave output. And make sure the inverter has enough capacity to handle the start up current that the motor will need.

Has anyone converted a gas powered snowblower to a battery powered electric one?

I have a 5HP single stage unit with a 2 stroke motor. The thing is obnoxiously loud. Being 2 stroke, I have to mix the oil with the gas. Then there is the maintenance of the engine on top of all this. It is getting bothersome.

I was thinking of getting a 1.5 - 3 hp AC motor (table saw motor or similar) and connect that to a 12V deep cycle AGM battery with a 1500w continuous inverter.

From the parts diagram of my snowblower it is belt driven so I would just need appropriate sized pulleys to get the auger speed about the same as to where it is now. Most table saw motors run at 3450 RPM.

I thought this would be an initial good project to start with before tackling the EV conversion of my car.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? etc

Thanks

Brian Willan (sick of this damn winter)
Oshawa, Ontario
Canada

Yeah gas snowblowers are a lot of maintenance. But why do you want to have to maintain a battery too? Why don't you just get an electric broom shovel from toro or someplace? You wrap the cord on the handle, start blowing snow from the garage and work your way out while unwrapping the cord. We have a toro power shovel plus. It's 7.5 amps and it doubles as an electric broom in the summer. I think they make a 12 amp power shovel too and if that's not enough power some guy in the ev album replaced a 5 hp motor with an ac motor and he just drags the cord. I'll tell you dealing with that cord dragging is a lot easier and cheaper than dealing with a gas motor or probably even a battery. Not too sure about lawnmowing though but maybe if it's a small lawn.

Hey I just found it for you http://www.evalbum.com/758 Robomow and some other company also make rechargeable robot mowers for your lawn too although they are not as good as a roomba because they are underpowered.

Yeah gas snowblowers are a lot of maintenance. But why do you want to have to maintain a battery too? Why don't you just get an electric broom shovel from toro or someplace? You wrap the cord on the handle, start blowing snow from the garage and work your way out while unwrapping the cord. We have a toro power shovel plus. It's 7.5 amps and it doubles as an electric broom in the summer. I think they make a 12 amp power shovel too and if that's not enough power some guy in the ev album replaced a 5 hp motor with an ac motor and he just drags the cord. I'll tell you dealing with that cord dragging is a lot easier and cheaper than dealing with a gas motor or probably even a battery. Not too sure about lawnmowing though but maybe if it's a small lawn.

The maintenance on a 12V AGM sealed battery is pretty much non-existent. Just hook it to the 12V SLA smart charger that I already have and I am good to go. I have used one of those electric broom shovels and they just don't cut it in the area that I live. This winter it has been common to get 8 - 12 inches of snow at a time.

I saw that link on the evalbum.com site for the person that installed a 5hp AC electric motor on his snowblower. First of all it is a 220-30A hookup. I hate dealing with a cord. I don't have a 220V outlet on the exterior of my house. I also use my snow blower on some elderly neighbours driveways and they certainly don't have 220V outlets on the outside of their houses either. Which is why I was looking at going the inverter route.

I will see what I can find. This winter is winding down in my area, so this is a project for the fall of this year.

i see. What makes you think 220 volts is necessary? Why don't you just find a 115 volt motor?

I will most certainly use a 115V motor if I can find one that will do the job. My comment about the 220 requirement was in reference to the link you posted about this electric snowblower conversion. http://www.evalbum.com/758